Malory and Kyle must participate in the annual April Fest production as the leading co-stars. If they can cooperate by the end of the production, their long records of uncivilized behaviour towards each other will be forgotten. 
Malory and Kyle attempt to cooperate, grabbing the opportunity to make a positive impact on their own future. In the process, they become entangled in the chaos of the other’s personal life. Malory learns of Kyle’s disturbing reality, and Kyle learns of Malory’s scarring past. Can these two brilliant but messy teens learn to rely on each other in the face of their silent battles?

Between The Lines

 Living with Ace is nothing more than a give and take. To others, I must seem like a spoiled prince with a bad attitude –not many people know I live in the neighbourhood fit for the rich, but the ones who do are surely talking about it. They must picture my life to be full of maids, expensive things and breakfast in bed. 


 Ace has a lot of people working for him. His entire organisation is built on blackmail. There are only a few people who are genuinely afraid of this monster of a man, but the rest are just afraid he would reveal what he knows about them. The majority of his minions are average men with secrets they just don’t want spilled out into the open because their reputations or perfectly-calculated lives would be at stake. You wouldn’t believe the kind of petty crimes people are willing to do anything to cover up. 


 This man is no true uncle to me. He could never be. All he sees me as is a servant; his personal slave; his backup plan. Why he hasn’t killed me yet, I will never understand. 


 I got home from school this evening expecting Ace to be on his way back home. His two weeks away on ‘business’ were up. He’d be back to wreck havoc on my period of peace again for a while soon. 


This time, however, I didn’t expect him to be at home before I arrived. He was standing tall up on the balcony, looking out at his kingdom. I inhaled deeply and opened the gate to go inside. 


 As a child, he would religiously ask me to pour him a glass of whiskey whenever he was standing on the balcony. I’m not sure when he stopped asking, but I hadn’t stopped doing it since then. When I get to the balcony, this time however, he’s already half done with the drink in his hand. I greet him to let him know I’m home, and then I turn to leave. 


 “A little birdie told me you’re in the April Fest Play,” he says, suddenly. 


 I stop short of a step, holding my breath. Who told him? “It’s true. They made me as a lead.” 


 He laughs, a little too amused. “A lead, huh? How adventurous. April Fest is always a three day event, isn’t it? Sounds like it could be a great opportunity for me.” He takes a sip of his whiskey, turning to me and smirking. “I should start planning.” 


 I suddenly feel all of winter weigh down on my spine. If Ace tries to sabotage the play –or worse, if he tries to hurt anyone at the school- what would I do? 


 And what about Malory, Olivia and Ron? 


 “Pack your bags, boy. We’re going on a trip.” 


 No trip is ever a walk on the beach with Ace. 


 I swallow my fear just enough to speak. “What should I pack?” 


 “Enough for three days and nights. You have until Wednesday to pack. We’re leaving at noon, then.” 


 With that, he sips at his whiskey again and waves me off. I leave the balcony, uneasy. 


Busy, Busy, Busy [1]